2023-10-25 18:55:08
The introduction of a parking rate at the Place de la Cité shopping center in Quebec City raises eyebrows, even if the owner of the building, the Mach Group, assures that it had no other choice but to do this to counter abuse.
Recently, people who drive to Place de la Cité have noticed the appearance of automated parking barriers. The Mach Group explains that with the return of employees to the building, the boxes for visitors were often difficult to find.
Rather than having to pay a monthly pass to go to work two or three days a week at the office, workers used the spaces for the mall’s customers. No fewer than 4,000 people work at Place de la Cité, nearly half of whom work for Retraite Québec, which has its head office there.
“The new post-pandemic reality, regarding the flexibility of face-to-face work requirements among our office tenants, means that a significant number of their employees are trying by all means to avoid monthly pricing using the boxes reserved for visitors,” said Michel Ayotte, vice-president, Quebec office, for Mach.
To counter this problem, the owner of the premises has implemented new technologies to offer a flexible menu for office workers. In addition, visitors have two hours of free parking to go shopping. Mr. Ayotte adds that the barriers will be lifted on the weekend.
Visitors have two hours of free parking to do their shopping. Diane Tremblay
Place de la Cité also wanted to avoid becoming a park-and-ride lot when the tramway eventually comes into service, added the manager.
Irritated customers
Even if they benefit from two free hours, customers met on site by The newspaper Wednesday were surprised and shocked. Some even tried to move backwards to avoid the barriers, as we saw on numerous occasions.
“When we saw this, we went to the parking lot on the other side of the street, on the Laurier Québec side where it is free, and we crossed on foot. I don’t understand. It’s ridiculous. We’ve been coming here for years and we’ve never had this problem. It’s unpleasant. At least there is an option: go to the other side,” said a customer.
Merchants at the mall have heard word of the policy change.
“It’s a bit of confusion that reigns. It’s a business that wasn’t profitable before and suddenly that changes. There are a lot of people who don’t like it. There are also a lot of people who still pay in cash,” argued Wilson Micheal, manager of the Normandin restaurant.
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